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This week I had the pleasure of attending the New York International Gift Fair at the Javits Center in Manhattan. The show is one of the largest in the world, boasting 2,800 exhibitors and 35,000 attendees. It's a five-day marketplace-style convention characterized by endless rows of exhibitors and clamoring throngs of buyers. Over the years, the show has grown so large that it has had to spill over to Pier 94, which houses “New York’s Newest” (a.k.a., the small new companies who are struggling to make a name for themselves). I find this section to be one of the most interesting, as it hosts companies that are still small enough that the founders have to staff the booths themselves. Here are a few of the entrepreneurs I met, and some of the lessons they offered to companies considering exhibiting next year.

What he offers: “A voice recorder for fun and laughter.” His simple product allows you to record your voice, play it back and distort it. The fancy MoMA version has a looping function too.

How he started: Richard was a sculptor, painter and musician for nine years before moving to NY to do film score composition. He decided to go back to school for audio technology at NYU. While there, he built a voice recording prototype for his nephew as a Christmas gift. Richard’s sister-in-law told him to open an Etsy store so she could buy more of the boxes for friends. She was his only customer for several months until he sent an email to Manhattan Users Guide telling them about his custom product — and made it into an Etsy round up feature.

How he grew his business: Feeling emboldened, he emailed Better Living Through Design and they featured his voice recorder too. Richard started using his connections to spread the word. He had previously built a pillow that controlled music that was featured in an exhibition at MOMA; he reached out to his contact there to tell her about his new product. Next thing he knew, he had an exclusive contract with MoMA Stores.

Lessons learned: Richard learned that his wholesale pricing had to be 50% of retail, which meant he had to double what he was originally selling the product for on Etsy to make it work for retail chains. He also figured out that his minimum wholesale quantity had to be 20 instead of 10, because after a year of selling he found that people who ordered 10 came back a week later and ordered 10 more. That said, he was willing to work with smaller retailers at the show that approached him about testing the product at their shops.

Booth modifications? I asked if Richard would add a demo video to his booth because his product’s utility is not self-evident. He said no — he really wants buyers to come in and engage with him. Would he change anything? “Yes,” he said laughing, “I would add another chair!” (Five days on your feet is a lot of standing.)

Success: Richard told me that he made enough in sales to pay for his booth ($5,000+)on the first day of the show. He added that even if this had not been the case, he would still have considered the show a success because he landed accounts he would never have found anywhere else.

Advice for others: “A friend of mine gave me great advice before the show. He said ‘Don’t waste your time with rude people, because in the end that means they will be a pain in the ass to deal with. They are the customers you do NOT want.”

What he offers: Three sizes of teddy bears holding red hearts with a single profane slogan.

How he started: In the mid-1990s, Chad was in art school in Canada and was doing a lot of silk screening. After reading a story about teaching Ebonics in high schools, he bought a handful of teddy bears from a thrift store, made the hearts, and silk screened them. He the bears them as an art multiple for about $100 each (so there are a few bears that collectors have in art galleries in Canada), and then he moved on to other things.

How he grew: After graduate school, he moved to New York and when friends started commenting on the few bears he still had around the house, he decided to create a website and run an ad in The Onion, the Harvard-based news satire magazine. He went out of town and when he came back he had $50,000 worth of orders waiting for him! He hired all of his friends to help him sew and apply the hearts — and he was off and running.

Lessons learned: Over time Chad tried to add a few more sayings to his line, but they never caught on. Fails included: “Who’s your daddy?” and his Brokeback Bear that read: “I can’t quit you.” At the end of the day, he returned to his roots.